Dianna groaned at the familiar but unwanted pain as she pushed up from her desk. It had been a long fucking week. She didn’t know if it was pain from sitting in one spot for so long, the stress of her current project, the long hours, part of her pain cycle, the lack of sleep, or the pent-up sexual tension from seeing Jack nearly every night but not being able to touch him. It could be one, three, or every single one of the above reasons, or it could be a sign that her disorder was progressing. Her last doctor’s appointment had led her to believe that her disorder was being managed, even if her pain wasn’t always manageable, but that didn’t mean something hadn’t changed. Of course, thinking of the worst-case scenario wouldn’t help, but with the way she was feeling, it was hard to keep a positive outlook. Maybe she just needed another night of unbridled sex with her grumpy DILF next door. If only she could get him alone. Yes, they’d seen each other every day, but Riley was with him.
He pulled it off over the back of his head like all men seemed to be able to do and was unreasonably sexy. Then he pressed his bare skin against hers and they both groaned. Jack rocked his pelvis against the juncture of her thighs, his hard cock hitting her in all the right places. “I’ve missed you too,” she rasped. “Me or my dick?” he whispered in her ear. “Just your dick,” she replied with a laugh that turned into a moan when he bit her neck. “Just…jokes…I…missed…all…of…you,” she panted out as he continued to rock into her. Dianna was so worked up that she was pretty sure he could get her off just with dry humping, but that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him to fill her up. She wanted him deep inside her when she came. “In me,” she breathed, pushing at his sweatpants. “I need you in me.” They didn’t get the pants off all the way, just down enough not to impede progress. Jack found a condom somewhere and Dianna was not going to question where it came
Dianna repositioned the hot pack on her stomach and groaned. Why was it that whenever she got her period, she didn’t just get period pain, but her entire body flared? It didn’t seem fair. Plus, with all the drugs she was on for pain management, why did none of them touch period pain? She was absolutely convinced that if men had to suffer through cramps once a month, they would prioritize finding a cure within the year. “What’s wrong with you?” Dianna looked up into the face of her nemesis and couldn’t censor her sneer or the words that came out of her mouth. “I’ve got my period, Phil,” she snapped. He turned white, and a look of disgust crossed his face. “Do you have to do that…here?” “Oh, I’m sorry if the natural process of my body expelling its uterine lining is upsetting for you. Should I reschedule it to a time when it is more convenient for you?” “That’s disgusting.” “No, it’s the circle of life. Now do you have something business related to talk to me about or are
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Felicity said as she stood. “I’ve sent Mason home on any number of occasions because he was being an insufferable shithead.” “Are you saying I’m being an insufferable shithead?” Dianna asked. “No, sweetie. You’re being worse. You’ve now crossed over into manifesting as a demon from hell. Now take your demon-arse home, pick up some chocolate and wine on the way, and wallow in your sulphur-infused grumpiness to your heart’s content.” “The launch is in two weeks.” “And if you go home now and deal with all this—” Felicity moved her hands in a circular motion indicating the hot mess that was Dianna “—then you will be back to being the gaming angel from heaven that we all know you to be. Now scoot. I don’t want to see you back in the office until your skin no longer has a reddish black cast and steam is no longer coming out of your ears.”Jack looked up from his laptop when he heard the tap on his door. Finn grinned at him from the doorway. “He
“Tell me what you need,” he said. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine—” “Hot pack? Tea? One of my sisters craves carbs and swears that a sticky bun from the bakery is the only thing that can cure her cramps.” Dianna blinked up at him like he was a unicorn. “Three sisters,” he replied. She laid her head on his chest and let out a deep sigh. “I need my bed, a hot pack, and a hot chocolate.” Jack helped her to the bedroom, and she sat on the bed. “Do you want me to get you something to change into?” he asked. “No, I’m good,” she said, reaching under the messy sheets of her unmade bed to pull out a large t-shirt. He had a moment where he wondered if the shirt had belonged to an ex-boyfriend, followed by a rush of jealousy, which he stomped down Plus, he didn’t have any claim on her and if she got comfort from an ex-boyfriend’s t-shirt then who was he to complain? Although he had a fleeting thought of sneaking one of his own shirts into her drawers as an altern
“Thanks for coming with me, Mum,” Dianna said. “Will he be much longer?” They were sitting in the waiting room for the doctor, who was running late…as usual. Dianna’s doctor was great, but because he was great and took time with each patient—more time than the allotted ten-minute appointment time—he was perpetually late. “He shouldn’t be too much longer,” Dianna said with a sigh. “You don’t have to stay. I can just text you when I’m ready to go home.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” Fran said. “I’m here now. I may as well hear what he has to say.” Dianna held in a sigh. She wouldn’t have called her mother, except she was in too much pain to drive herself. It wasn’t a flare-up, or at least she didn’t think it was. This was just the typical pile-on that happened when she got her period. There was a reason women were told not to schedule waxing or tattoo appointments when their period was due…it hurt more. And this doctor’s appointment was just one of her usual check-ups.
Dianna watched Fran change before her eyes. It was like one of those morphing videos. Her mother had turned from an indignant prickly cactus to a loving and doting mother. “Nice to meet you,” Jack said, reaching out to shake Fran’s hand while looking at Dianna with concerned eyes. “And you,” Fran said with an eyelash flutter. “Dianna didn’t tell me her neighbor was such a handsome man.” Oh God, kill me now. Her mother was flirting with Jack, which was…awkward to say the least. Jack smiled tightly. “Is everything okay?” Jack asked Dianna, extricating his hand from her mother’s. “Are you feeling any better?” “Oh, she’s fine,” Fran said before Dianna could respond. “It’s just a touch of the flu. She’ll be fine in no time.” Dianna rolled her eyes. There was no way her mother would admit to anyone that Dianna had her period, nor would she admit her daughter had the ‘not real’ disorder of fibromyalgia. Perception was everything to Fran and no one could sho
Jack grunted when he looked at the display on his phone. “Dahlia,” he practically growled when he answered. “Hi Jack,” Dahlia said with a weary sigh. “She wants another chance, doesn’t she?” Jack asked. “Of course she does,” he answered his own question, not giving Dahlia a chance to speak. “How many chances does she expect to get? How many times am I expected to put Riley through this?” “It’s not that simple, Jack,” Dahlia said. “It never is with her,” he growled. “Look, Jack, she had reasons for not showing up last time—” “Excuses,” Jack snapped. “Kara always has excuses.” “Okay, granted. In the past, she has been flakey, but I believe her this time. She wants to see her son, Jack.” “And what about Riley? What if he doesn’t want to see her? Does she even care what he wants?” “She just wants a chance. Can you give her that?” “You told me that last time,” he said. “You told me if she didn’t show we wouldn’t have to go through this
6 months later“Are you ready for this?” Anthony asked as they stood outside the courtroom. Talia nodded and gripped Parker’s hand. The judge had called them back in for the verdict on Mark’s trial and she couldn’t deny she was nervous. The weeks spent preparing for the trial and then sitting through the witness statements and being cross-examined by an aggressive defense attorney who made her out to be some sort of diva and ungrateful bitch who was somehow ripping off the father who had done everything for her had taken its toll. And the media beat-up was just as bad. However, not all the media had been on her father’s side. Talia had discovered she had far more supporters than she’d thought. Her fans—the true fans—had gathered in force to support her and she loved them for it. Not enough for her to consider going back into acting, but enough that going through the trial had been bearable. But if not for the constant and unwavering support of Parker, Talia didn’t think she woul
Parker rolled his eyes as he took her hand and stood. “Seal the deal?” “Isn’t that what you said earlier?” He shook his head, his grin still in place. “No, I said celebrate.” “Okay, good. Let’s do that then.” Parker grabbed her and lifted her up, making Talia squeal. He kissed her and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. Stumbling, he carried her to the bedroom and tossed her on the bed with a flourish, making her squeal again. “I feel like we need champagne and strawberries or something,” Parker said, standing with his hands on his hips as he looked around the room. “You mean like pouring champagne in my belly button and licking it out?” Talia asked, lifting her shirt to reveal her navel. Parker cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm…that’s something to think about for a later celebration,” he said. Talia pouted. Parker held up his hands. “I don’t have any champagne on hand,” he protested. “Then I’ll just have to
“You called Isaac,” Parker said when he walked into the apartment. Talia looked up at him and bit her lip. “I did,” she said. “But before you get mad, I didn’t say anything about what happened. And I did it because I knew you wouldn’t say anything to defend yourself.” Parker sighed. “I’m not mad,” he said, walking over to where she was seated, working on her miniature diorama. He leaned down and kissed her. “I’m grateful. Thank you. What you said to Isaac helped.” Talia grinned up at him. “So, they’re going to let you do the article?” Parker nodded. “They are.” “That’s so great,” Talia replied. “So it all worked out.” Parker pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. “Things have worked out for me, but what about you? What are your plans now? Without Mark controlling your every move, you can do anything you want.” Talia dropped her head and fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. “I don’t know what I want to do,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I wan
Talia pulled back from the kiss. “Don’t you think it was pretty selfish of me not to sacrifice myself for you?” she asked. “No,” he said, reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear. “What you did wasn’t selfish, it was survival. There’s a difference. Me expecting you to sacrifice yourself for my job would have been selfish. Are you doing what you need to in order to survive? Not selfish. Not in the slightest.” “It feels selfish,” she mumbled, leaning her forehead against his. “I feel like I need to do something to make it up to you.” Parker cupped her face. “Talia,” he whispered. “This is not some quid pro quo thing. There will be times when you will save me. I have no doubt about it. That’s how relationships work. It’s swings and roundabouts. There is no big tally sheet in the sky and nobody is keeping score.” “I just don’t want you to feel resentful—” Parker cut off the rest of her sentence with a kiss. “How could I be resentful of the fact that I get to have you in my l
“She’s asleep,” Parker said, coming into the living room from his bedroom where Talia had finally succumbed to sleep. He slumped onto the couch beside Stephen and laid his head on his father’s shoulder. Anthony looked over at him from where he was sitting, going through some paperwork on his laptop, and Carter paced, not able to sit still. “I take it the article came out,” Parker said. “Yeah,” Carter replied with a sigh as he raked his hand through his hair. “It’s going to do us some damage,” Parker said. “Maybe,” Carter said with a shrug. “Maybe not.” Parker frowned at him. “What does that mean?” “It gets your name out there,” he replied. “It will drive people to your blog.” “Fucking hell, Carter,” Parker exploded, jumping to his feet. “Seriously? You think this is a good thing?” “I didn’t say that,” Carter replied. “I just said it wasn’t necessarily damaging to us.” “And what about Parker asked. “The article would have tanked that de
Anthony had filed a police report as soon as he arrived in the city. “Their hands are tied,” Anthony said with a sigh. “There is no evidence of force and as she recently hid from the public because of a scandal, we have nothing to say she isn’t doing it again because of the latest issue.” “But can’t they force her to at least speak with them? To check that she’s okay?” Parker asked. “As far as they’re concerned, she has just gone into hiding again,” Anthony reiterated. “Until we have something to say otherwise, they can’t do anything. This has the potential to be a high-profile case because of who she is, so if they make a big deal about it and it turns out to be something innocent, it might blow up in their faces.” “That’s bullshit,” Parker growled, pushing up from his seat to pace around the room. He hated that he was sitting there doing nothing while Talia was trapped in her father’s house. It was torture to know where she was and yet not be able to get to
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Talia said. After Mark’s big reveal the night before, Talia had been left to sleep off the effects of the sedative he’d given her. The fucking bastard. He’d locked her door so she couldn’t get out and the window was too far from the ground for her to escape that way. Not without breaking something, anyway. Which Talia wouldn’t have minded, except with the way she’d been feeling, the thing that got broken might very well be her head, and she was kind of attached to it being in one piece and remaining on her shoulders. So Mark had stalked her and Parker and then kidnapped her and drugged her and imprisoned her and he was under the impression that he was perfectly within his rights to do so. “I’m doing this for you,” Mark said. “Your mental health is at stake here.” “The only threat to my mental health is your arsehole behavior,” Talia snapped. They were sitting in the sunny kitchen at the table and Mark was trying to pretend that it
Carter clicked his fingers. “The original photos, the ones that were taken when you took her out to look at the miniature street art.” Carter turned to Parker. “You were in some of those photos. Your face was blurred, but that could have been done after the fact.” “So he’s been following me?” Parker asked. “You and Carter. Both would be my guess,” Jack said. “So he’s been following us, but how did he know I was sending a car to pick her up?” Parker asked. “Have you noticed anyone following you?” Carter asked. Parker shook his head and then paused. “What?” Carter asked. “What’s that look?” “It’s probably nothing,” Parker said. “Just say it,” Carter said. “I was speaking to Talia just before I went into the meeting he said. “When I hung up from the call, I bumped into a guy…you don’t think…nah. It can’t be. This isn’t some espionage movie.” “Could he have overheard your conversation?” Jack asked, leaning back in his chair and looking up
Parker was on a high. By all accounts, Atticus was on board with his proposal. Isaac just wanted to check in with the rest of the band before giving him a definitive answer. That was fine with Parker. Things would go much more smoothly if everyone was in agreement. The last thing he wanted was a hostile environment and if any of the members had misgivings about the proposal, then he would walk away. It would hurt, but he would do it. For this to work—for everyone involved—there had to be open communication and a willingness to participate. Without that, Parker may as well give up now. He climbed into his car, cursing the parking ticket and flapping on his windscreen. Getting out again, he grabbed it from under the windscreen wiper and shoved it into his glove compartment. The Playbook could pay for that. It was the price of doing business, after all. He turned the music up loud as he navigated through the heavy traffic toward his apartment building. He couldn’t wait to tell Ta